In pictures: Joe Biden inches towards victory as protests erupt across US

1 / 10

Republican US President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden have both claimed to be ahead in the closely fought presidential election, even as the final outcome hinged on a handful of states on Thursday where a flood of mail-in ballots triggered by the raging coronavirus pandemic remained to be counted.

2 / 10

Democratic party nominee Joe Biden is projected by the US media to win Michigan, picking up another state flipped by Donald Trump in 2016 and having 16 electoral votes

3 / 10

US President Donald Trump has threatened to draw out the final results of Presidential elections by attempting to halt vote-counting in Pennsylvania and Michigan. He would seek a recount in Wisconsin, he said, even as several other battlegrounds remained too close to call.

4 / 10

Yesterday, Trump prematurely declared victory and said he would petition the Supreme Court to demand a halt to the counting. Biden urged his supporters — and by implication, Trump — to show patience and allow the process to play out.

5 / 10

So far, US President Donald Trump is ahead in Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Georgia, Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio. Joe Biden has taken leads in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, California, Maine, Washington, Illinois, Connecticut, Michigan, Minnesota, Vermont, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Nevada, New Hamshire and Virginia.

6 / 10

With his wins in the pivotal swing states of Michigan and Wisconsin, Biden has secured 264 electoral votes to Donald Trump’s 214 votes. The Democrat nominee needs to win just one more state to capture the White House.

7 / 10

From the states that have been called by the US media so far, Biden has secured 264 electoral votes, while Trump has won 214.

8 / 10

This means a final winner might not be declared today, unless a candidate bags a landslide victory.

9 / 10

Asian shares scaled a near three-year peak on Thursday and bonds extended their blistering rally as investors wagered the prospect of U.S. policy gridlock would greatly favour some industries while also restraining government borrowing. The risk of a prolonged contested election did remain, though the count was progressing in an orderly fashion with Democratic challenger Joe Biden narrowly ahead in key states.

10 / 10

In order to deal with the riots in wake of the Presidential Elections in downtown Portland, authorities in Oregon decided to send units of the National Guard to the city to provide assistance to law enforcement officers, said Multnomah county sheriff's office on Wednesday